Blue Jays starter Jaime Garcia opened Saturday’s game against the Texas Rangers by striking out the first four batters. And then everything went south.

After fanning the lead-off batter in the second, Garcia fell apart, giving up a walk and then back-to-back home runs by Jurickson Profar and Robinson Chirinos to stake the Rangers to a 3-0 lead.

In Friday’s 6-4 loss to Texas, Toronto starter Marcus Stroman gave up four runs in the first and the home side couldn’t recover. They couldn’t recover on Saturday either. The Jays’ starting rotation — which is supposed to be a strength — has been anything but so far this season.

Toronto Blue Jays’ second baseman Lourdes Gurriel forces Texas Rangers designated hitter Shin-Soo Choo (17) out at second base before truning a double play during seventh inning American League baseball action in Toronto, Saturday, April 28, 2018.

The wheels came off completely for the Garcia in the fourth when a fly ball hit between centre and left by Shin-Soo Choo was not pulled in by centre fielder Kevin Pillar. Two Texas runs scored on the play. Even though it was ruled a hit, Pillar would have made the catch if not for the fact that he pulled up at the last-minute, thinking he was going to collide with left-fielder Curtis Granderson. Pillar, who smashed two home runs in the game, said he and Granderson didn’t hear each other.

“You know there’s a lot of new guys out there (in the outfield) constantly in and out and we’re just going to continue to work and get better out there,” he said. “Me and Grandy were able to come in the dugout and talk about it and hopefully it doesn’t happen again.

“But it’s part of the game, you play in a loud stadium, you got two guys out there that like to go get the ball, he’s a former centre fielder so he’s an aggressive guy too and sometimes we just can’t hear each other. We’ll just continue to work on the communication and hopefully this doesn’t happen again.”

In the second inning, Toronto left fielder Teoscar Hernandez booted a ball he should have caught at the wall. It’s been a sloppy couple of days for the Jays.

Even though Pillar smacked two home runs and second baseman Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit his first career MLB home run, 44-year-old Texas starter Bartolo Colon kept the Jays off-balance enough for his injury-depleted club to come away with a 7-4 victory, Toronto’s fourth consecutive loss, the longest losing streak of the season.

The Jays have also lost three straight series for the first time this season. Colon largely kept the Jays in check, allowing six hits, three runs over seven innings. And while he gave up two dingers, he did not issue a walk. Garcia lasted five innings, giving up five runs on five hits and four walks. He also threw three wild pitches.

“We lost, I didn’t get the job done,” said a dejected Garcia.

Texas Rangers right fielder Nomar Mazara (30) slides safely in to second base ahead of the tag from Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Yangervis Solarte (26) after a wild pitch by Blue Jays starting pitcher Jaime Garcia (57) during third inning American League baseball action in Toronto, Saturday, April 28, 2018.Frank Gunn /
THE CANADIAN PRESS

As for Gurriel, the 24-year-old said belting his first home run is something he’ll never forget, particularly since it came off Colon, who signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians in 1993, the year Gurriel was born.

“Bartolo’s a legend so I feel a little bit more happy and pumped up that it was against him,” said Gurriel, through team interpreter Josue Peley.

Chirinos hit his second homer of the day, this time to left field, off Toronto reliever Seung-hwan Oh in the sixth.

Hernandez has reached base safely in 12 of his 13 games this season, smacking a lead-off triple in the sixth inning, the sixth triple for the Jays this season, one more than they recorded all of last year.

“I think he’s just coming into his own, but he’s got as much power as anybody you’ll see,” said Jays manager John Gibbons of Hernandez. “And he does it easy. Yeah, I think he’s got a chance to be a star someday.”

The Rangers added a seventh run in the ninth off Toronto closer Roberto Osuna when Choo hit a single to score DeShields.

This Week's Flyers

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.